This is the Friends of History Debating Society with my colleague Professor H. J. McEnter

International Relations in Beijing. The news from Beijing is peculiar. Chinese Defense Minister

Lee Shang-Fu extended an offer to his Ukrainian counterpart to use all means, that's in quotes,

of outreach possible to try to end Russia's war, while also pledging to expand military

communications with Kiev, according to the Ukraine's Deputy Defense Chief. This is mighty

strange, Professor. Defense Minister of China coming forward as a diplomat to resolve a war,

is this is the same defense minister who has avoided speaking with the Defense Minister of

the United States, the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Austin. Does this explain itself in terms of

that debt you just mentioned China can't bear? Well, not exactly, but it has to be seen against

the background of a very chaotic situation, and uncertain situation in China. They actually have

another fellow who is making the rounds of the European capitals and so forth with a pathetic excuse.

He is an idea of how to make peace, as it's a way to make peace by first we stop fighting,

and then we talk about how we can be friends with him. He's absolutely terrible. Well, you have

to understand, and people don't, because we have this image of China as this remarkable,

dynamic, thrusting economy that, I mean, a few years ago you had books about it,

when China rules the world and how everything was going to be Chinese. And now,

for more than 10 years, you have had a leader in China who is reversing all of the policies,

imperfect policies, to be sure, but better than what he's putting in policies that encourage

economic growth. The result is that when we look at the figures for the economy in China,

it's clear that unemployment is very high, youth unemployment is very high, and there really

aren't any new jobs being created. Export are falling, the price of the prices of energy,

the price of coal, all of these things, which are good collective indicators. As a general

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